The Inner Circle 23 Results: Panpayak Overwhelms Anuar Cisneros, Ryujin Nasukawa Debuts With A Knockout
A quartet of bouts served as the perfect appetizer before Aliff Sor Dechapan and Sam-A Gaiyanghadao clashed for the ONE Interim Strawweight Muay Thai World Title in the main event of The Inner Circle 23.
Elite Muay Thai and kickboxing filled the night from top to bottom, which aired exclusively on live.onefc.com in Asia primetime from Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium.
Here is everything that went down in the Thai capital city on Friday, July 24.
Panpayak Puts On A Kickboxing Clinic Against Cisneros
Seven-time Muay Thai World Champion “The Angel Warrior” Panpayak Jitmuangnon looked every bit back to his best, running circles around Anuar Cisneros en route to a unanimous decision win in their bantamweight kickboxing co-main event.
Both rangy fighters opened from the outside, trading kicks to establish range. Panpayak landed with far greater conviction, however, with his signature body kick reverberating with a thud that drew a roar from the Thai faithful.
Cisneros began closing the gap in the second canto, getting inside to land hooks. The 30-year-old Thai answered with push kicks and chopping leg attacks that sent the Mexican slipping, then finished the round with a crisp one-two to the chin.
Panpayak’s relentless body work paid dividends in the final round. The punishment had taken its toll on Cisneros, whose guard sank lower with each blow. Sensing the opening, “The Angel Warrior” switched upstairs, landing three massive head kicks in succession that buckled the Mexican’s legs.
Cisneros showed extraordinary durability to hear the final bell, but one-sided dominance was all the scorecards reflected, sending the unanimous decision Panpayak’s way.
As a result, the Jitmuangnon Gym and Phuket Fight Club warrior stayed perfect under kickboxing rules in ONE, moving to 4-0 in the sport and pushing his decorated career record to an incredible 252-44.
Ryujin Finishes Thongpoon, Dirlenbach And Liu Victorious
ISKA World Champion Ryujin “Shindo” Nasukawa wasted no time living up to the family name in his hotly anticipated debut on the global stage, stopping Thongpoon PK Saenchai in the second round of their strawweight kickboxing matchup.
Thongpoon came out aggressive in the opening frame, but the Team TEPPEN affiliate settled in the second canto, stunning the PK Saenchai Muaythaigym man with a right hook and a knee to the midsection. Five blistering unanswered shots followed in quick succession, leaving the referee with no choice but to step in at 2:00 of round two.
The younger brother of Tenshin Nasukawa announced himself with a highlight-reel moment as promised, improving to 19-3 in the process.
Elsewhere, 19-year-old promotional newcomer Michel Dirlenbach improved to 13-0 with a unanimous decision win over Mahan Fotouhi in lightweight Muay Thai.
Meanwhile, in the opening bout of the night, China’s Liu Junchao upped his slate to 17-6 with a hard-earned victory over Kosei Yoshida across three entertaining rounds of flyweight kickboxing.
